Broadband News

More information on Broadband for Scotland

Further information has been published on the announcement that broadband is to be rolled out to 378 exchanges in Scotland that previously had no hope of broadband. The Broadband For Scotland
website has its press release that can be read here, and a useful FAQ is located here.

Two levels of ADSL access will be available, there is the standard exchange build, that will offer 0.5, 1 and 2Mbps which is to used in 230 of the exchanges (~71% of lines in the scheme). The
remaining exchanges will have a basic broadband service, which comprises of the BT Exchange Activate product. Exchange Activate provides a simple 0.5Mbps service, i.e. the equivalent of BT
IPStream Home 500.

Exchange Activate (EA) was originally created as a solution for the smaller exchanges. There is an average of around 100 lines on each of the 148 exchanges that will see the EA service. Which
should suit the build of 30 ADSL lines that Exchange Activate normally supplies. If demand is high for an area, we believe it should be possible for BT to add extra capacity, but this capability
may vary from exchange to exchange.

For those in Scotland and are wondering when they will get the service, the plan is to try and get all 378 exchanges up and running by the end of 2005. An indication of the roll-out schedule is
expected in the next few weeks. For more details visit www.broadbandforscotland.co.uk.